The single focus of the Department of Small Business Services (SBS) of the City of New York is on the opportunities and challenges facing New York's small businesses and commercial districts. SBS provides a wide range of direct services dedicated to helping New York 's small businesses grow and thrive.
Robert Walsh
Robert W. Walsh was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) by Mayor Bloomberg in January 2002. During his tenure, he has redefined how the City serves and responds to the needs of the City’s 220,000 small businesses.
SBS has invigorated the City's 64 Business Improvement Districts– the largest network of BIDs in the country – which collectively invest more than $98 million dollars in the maintenance, development and promotion of commercial districts throughout the City. Under Walsh’s leadership, SBS enhanced the delivery of services to New York City’s small businesses. Through NYC Business Solutions, SBS provides businesses with business planning assistance, business courses, help accessing financing, hiring and training employees, selling to the government, and accessing incentives. To make starting, operating and expanding a business simple and easy, SBS launched online tools through NYC Business Express. SBS has also energized the City’s promotion and support of minority- and women-owned businesses.
Since Mayor Bloomberg merged the City’s adult workforce development programs with SBS in July 2003, Walsh has led the effort to link workforce and economic development by meeting the needs of both businesses and jobseekers. Under his leadership, SBS has increased the number of Workforce1 Career Centers from three to ten and implemented data-driven performance management, resulting in an increase in the number of placements made by the Career Centers each quarter from just 127 in 2004 to more than 6,800 during the last quarter. SBS also overhauled the City’s training voucher program by focusing on training provider accountability and tightly linking training opportunities to jobs. The Workforce1 Career Centers have achieved 84,000 job placements since 2004 and aim to place New Yorkers in over 20,000 jobs in 2009.
Prior to his appointment, Walsh spent five years in North Carolina as President of Charlotte Center City Partners, an organization dedicated to improving and growing Charlotte’s central business district. From 1989 to April 1997, he led the Union Square Partnership, where he played a key role in the neighborhood's revitalization. During the 1980's, he worked in the administration of Mayor Edward I. Koch. He began his career in public service as a New York City Urban Fellow, a program he later directed. Commissioner Walsh holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from Fordham University.
If you are the owner of a small business operating in New York City or are considering launching or buying one, Commissioner Walsh will give you guidance and answer your questions about how SBS can help.
This event is intended to support those who have submitted or are considering submitting plans to the Alumni New Venture Competition (NVC). Details can be found through the following link: http://www.hbscny.org/article.html. The deadline for registration is January 25th and business plans are due on February 1. The HBS Club of NY will conduct local judging conducted by a panel of leading New York venture capitalists and prominent angel investors on March 24. The Club’s winning team will present its plan along with finalists representing eight other clubs representing four countries to a panel of judges at HBS on April 26 for final consideration. The HBS Club of New York will sponsor travel arrangements to Boston for the local finalist to participate in the Finals Competition. HBS will award the winning team a $25,000 cash prize. In addition, each finalist team will receive mentoring from an HBS faculty member prior to the judging, as well as participate in an educational session on campus during the Finals.
